My passion for public health service dates back to my childhood. I grew up in a rural village in central Kenya where at that time malaria was endemic. I can’t count the number of times I’ve gone down with malaria. I remember one time when I was in grade 4 and I was taking my English writing exam. Out of nowhere, I started shaking and feeling cold and weak to a point where I could not hold a pen. I informed the teacher, and I was taken to a nearby hospital where they diagnosed me with malaria. This time it was so bad that I was anemic, and I needed blood. I thought I was going to die. I was lucky that I responded to treatment well, but I had to miss my exams for that period. Today, I am thrilled by the value that public health has even though this may be underestimated. In the realization and understanding that the best public health is not seen, it is the idea that it is able to prevent diseases and disease outbreaks that fascinates me the most.
I am excited most by the empirical process of understanding public health problems. Public health professionals are like disease detectives. They gather evidence to address a health concern in the communities where they serve. Public health research guides the empirical process of evaluating health concerns, gathering data, and analyzing the data to provide evidence that would guide interventions and policies.
I am proud to be the first DrPH student to graduate from the program!
FAST FACTS
Name: David Wambui
Semester/Year Graduated – DrPH: Fall 2021
Focus Track (Occ or EH): Environmental Health
Hometown: Nairobi, Kenya
Hobbies/Interests: Chess and guitar playing
Colleges attended and degrees: Kenyatta University (Kenya) – BSc. Microbiology; Duke University – MSc. Global Health; ECU – DrPH Environmental Health
Motivations
Dream job: Senior researcher at the CDC
Role model: Prof. Wangari Maathai
Your words to live by: Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
PIRATE PRIDE
Years enrolled in DrPH Program: Fall 2018 – Fall 2021
Research interests: Environmental Epidemiology
Academic Advisor: Dr. Kearney
Where I’m working now: ECU, Department of Public Health – Postdoctoral Fellow
What I love about ECU: The people. Faculty, staff, and students are great and very supportive
Favorite DrPH classes: Environmental & Occupational Epidemiology and Quantitative Research Methods
What advice do you give to other DrPH students in the program? Know what you want to do for your dissertation in before the end of your first year and start working towards it.
What do you like to do when not working? Watch random stuff on YouTube